HP Envy x360 Convertible - Synaptics touchpad/mouse issue troubleshooting

[flyinraptr]

Purchased an HP Envy x360 Convertible a couple months ago and have been experiencing erratic pointer behavior with mouse/touchpad - unable to control it - appears as if someone is continuously clicking on something.  The issue seems to be getting progressively worse.  I have been researching numerous posts with similar issues and although some of the solutions appear to help eventually the problem returns.  At this point - i have to either wait for the issue to clear itself and hope that something doesn't inadvertently launch or power off the laptop. 

HP Envy x360 Convertible -15m-dr0012dx

OS - Windows 10.0.18362 Build 18362

Bios - Insyde F06 5/15/2019

Synaptics Precision driver - 19.5.35.29

I have updated the BIOS/fimware - as well as all Windows updates.  I have tried disabling the Synaptics touchpad with external mouse.  Tried disabling the mouse and only using the touchpad.  I have tried rolling back to older version of the Synaptics driver - (could only find Synaptics version 19.0.19.1).  I have tried uninstalling the devices and let Windows rediscover.  I tried using legacy Microsoft drivers for both mouse and touchpad.

 If i boot up into the BIOS - the mouse and touchpad work - have not experienced the issue while booted up into the BIOS.  I have tried booting Windows up into diagnostic mode and safe mode.   Started thinking it was a heat issue - in fact - the problem does appear to be less frequent after the laptop has cooled down. 

I began thinking it may be a short or something of that nature and possibly i am causing it by pressing on the touchpad or keyboard.  I initiated some music streaming and didn't touch the laptop - it ran smoothly for about 45min to an hour and the problem returned with no interaction by me.  I ran the test a second time and it ran smoothly for 2 hours - as soon as i got back on it and started manipulation the mouse/touchpad - the problem re-occured.

I contacted HP Support - they went through updating the BIOS and drivers and informed me i needed to the send the laptop in to an HP Service Center - indicating he thought it was a hardware issue.   I live outside of the US - in a country that does not have mail service - so that option is problematic even the though the laptop is still under warranty.    i did see a post where it turned out to be an issue with the touchpad or touchpad cable - thinking issue may be a short or faulty cable.  Is there a way i could order a replacement touchpad and cable direclty from HP in order to replace it myself?

[flyinraptr]

Update - managed to completely hose the laptop - unable to start-up - have tried the Microsoft recovery options/repairs etc.  So - i have an older HP Envy 15 laptop - that has never had any issues with touchpad/mouse - it is running an older version of Windows 10.  Going to try installing the 1607 Anniversary edition of Windows 10 on the new laptop to see what happens.

[flyinraptr]

Update - rolled back to Windows 10 build 1607 - seemed pretty solid - only problem was some devices not recognized ... was using the Microsoft HID driver for the touchpad.  I began installing the specific drivers for the laptop - and it may have been a coincidence but right after installing the Intel chipset drivers the problem re-appeared.   I installed a third party driver program - Driver Booster and did a scan - it found 18 drivers out of date - this was after running the HP Assist driver program.   Eventually, updated to Windows 10 build 18362.   I decided to take a peek inside - in this particular laptop the battery sits directly below the touchpad - what i noticed first was one of the screws to hold the battery in place was missing - location was directly next to the touchpad.  I noticed that there was some slight movement with the battery due to the missing screw.  After removing the battery - i noticed that the ribbon cable connecting the touchpad to the motherboard had a significant crease in it - almost seems like the ribbon cable is too long for the intended location.  As a test - i disconnected the touchpad ribbon cable altogether and replaced the battery.   I booted up - of course the touchpad was not recognized by the OS - system ran fine for about 10-15 minutes and when typing this update the problem occurred again!    That was a complete surprise - completely disconnected and not recognized by the OS - would lead me to believe i am suspecting the wrong component.  i re-opened the laptop - reconnected the touchpad cable and rebooted.  The touchpad is again recognized and working - this time as a test I have gone into Device Manager and disabled the touchscreen.  So far so good.  Before i disabled the touchscreen I took notice of the driver - Microsoft  did notice that the driver installed for the touchscreen was a Microsoft ver. 10.0.18362.175 date - 6/21/2006.  I tried to do an update on it - but it came back that the best driver was already installed.   Going to let it run with the touchscreen disabled for a while and see if issue returns.